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The value of U.S. gold hit another record high on Tuesday, surpassing the $4,000 threshold for the first time, as economists praised the precious metal as a safe-haven investment in the wake of a U.S. government shutdown, a declining job market and steady inflation, Forbes reported.
U.S. gold futures, used by investors to hedge positions, surged to around $4,005 per troy ounce Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Spot gold was up 0.6% to $3,985.82 per ounce as of 01:48 p.m. EDT (17:48 GMT), after hitting an all-time high of $3,990.85 earlier in the session, according to Reuters.
The primary market for spot gold is the London over-the-counter (OTC) market, which serves as the global benchmark for pricing.
Non-yielding gold, which tends to do well during times of uncertainty and low interest-rate environments, has climbed 51% so far this year. The metal's rally has been driven by a cocktail of factors, including expectations of interest rate cuts, ongoing political and economic uncertainty, solid central bank buying, inflows into gold ETFs and a weak dollar, according to Reuters. Goldman Sachs raised on Monday its December 2026 gold price forecast to $4,900 per ounce from $4,300, citing strong Western exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows and likely central bank buying.
Elsewhere, spot silver was down 1.4% at $47.86 per ounce, platinum fell 0.5% to $1,617.41 and palladium was up 2.1% at $1,347.52.